THE JOY OF LIVING

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Tibetan nun's love for street dogs made into film

 

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Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006

 

Dharamsala - A true account of a Tibetan nun's love for street dogs and her

tireless struggle to feed and take care of them is the subject of a

documentary film by a fellow Tibetan in this Himachal Pradesh town.

 

The 52-minute film, 'The Joy Of Living', by Kelsang Tsering Khangsar is

based on the life of Tibetan Buddhist nun Anni Sonam Tsering, who has been

looking after street dogs in Dharamsala for the last 30 years.

 

The documentary was premiered here on Sunday before invited guests, the

press, and Kelsang's friends and family.

 

The star of the show, Ani Sonam Tsering, was also present.

 

Anni is among the first groups of Tibetans who settled in this northern

Indian town after invading Chinese communist forces occupied Tibet in 1959.

 

She has nursed over 100 stray dogs in the last 30 years, mainly by

scavenging for food.

 

When the animals died, Ani would give them a descent burial, with prayers

for their speedy rebirth, perhaps in the form of more fortunate beings 'like

humans'.

 

Her life has been a constant struggle for survival. In spite of all the

difficulties she faced in her personal life, her sympathy and consideration

towards other creatures remained intact.

 

Tibetans living in Dharamsala all know about Anni Sonam. She is popularly

known to them as 'Khi Anni', meaning 'The Dog's Nun', in acknowledgement of

her unfailing striving in the service of street dogs.

 

Through his film, Kelsang has tried to capture the nun's life and her

day-to-day routine to care for the dogs.

 

Kelsang hit upon the idea of making a film on Anni Sonam in 2003. However,

he could not start on the project as he was constrained by lack of finances.

 

In the absence of 'any financial or concrete help', Kesang said it took him

three years to shoot the documentary with a simple handy cam.

 

His determination to tell Anni's story to the world kept him going.

 

The film portrays Anni, who is now over 70, and her unflinching sense of

responsibility and her service for the dogs - either in saving them from

human brutality or from hunger. It explores the building of a relationship

between Anni and the street dogs. Her love for the canines even forced her

to accommodate them in her own dingy narrow home, where she was forced to

clean up their mess regularly.

 

Unlike in the years past, when she was younger and had been able to feed the

dogs with her own meagre savings, today Anni gets their food by going from

door to door. This is now her daily routine.

 

Life for Anni has become unimaginable without the company of her faithful

dogs. The animals never fail to wag their tails whenever they see their

loving guardian come along. She is just like a mother to the dogs and has

accepted them as her own family.

 

Kelsang's film brings out the indefinable bond of love between the nun and

the animals.

 

In capturing Anni Sonam's unique story on screen, Kelsang seeks to add a

little spiritual message for viewers too - 'when a relationship is bound by

love, there is no end to sacrifice'.

 

An alumnus of Tibetan Children's Village School, Kelsang graduated in

political science from Panjab University, Chandigarh, He also has a diploma

degree in mass communication from the same university.

 

He has worked in five major Tibetan film projects, including the well-known

recent Tibetan feature film 'Dreaming Lhasa' by Ritu Sarin and Tenzin Sonam.

He has also worked in two international ventures - Pan Nalin's 'Valley Of

Flowers' and Albert Brooks 'Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World'.

 

Kelsang's experience of working in these projects helped him in making 'The

Joy Of Living', his first self-financed documentary film.

 

The filmmaker is now looking forward to the release of another documentary

film, 'Dharamsala', directed by Sahil Segal. 'Dharamsala', in which Kelsang

has worked as an associate director, is due to be released in October.